An apparatus for spreading dough into a shape substantially circular has since been proposed, and for example, in Patent Document 1, there has been disclosed a spreading apparatus wherein a yeast-raised dough is shaped so as to have a predetermined thickness while being beaten between a backing roller rotating at a predetermined position, and a beating belt repeatedly making a motion to approach, and part from the backing roller to thereby degas the dough, and while the yeast-raised dough shaped to the predetermined thickness is transferred by a conveyor means, the yeast-raised dough is beaten to be spread by a beating member repeatedly making a motion to approach, and part from the yeast-raised dough, the dough, meanwhile, being degassed. Further, in Patent Document 2, there has been disclosed a spreading apparatus for spreading a bread dough, and so forth, comprising a rotator with a plurality of planetary rollers arranged so as to revolve along a circumferential locus of the rotator, and a transfer unit provided below the rotator, comprising a plurality of rollers whose circumferential speeds sequentially increase from an inlet of the transfer unit, for the dough, towards an outlet thereof, and a plate arc-like in shape, wherein the transfer unit, and the planetary rollers positioned above the transfer unit are disposed so as to oppose each other such that respective gaps with curvature between the plurality of the rollers of the transfer unit, and the planetary rollers positioned above the transfer unit, undergo gradual decrease from the inlet of the transfer unit, for the dough, towards the outlet thereof. Further, in Patent Document 3, there has been disclosed a food dough processing apparatus wherein a dough material is clamped between respective opposing faces of upper and lower endless belts, disposed above and below, so as to oppose each other, with a predetermined spacing interposed therebetween, thereby press-molding the dough material by a molding means while the upper and lower endless belts are intermittently run in the same direction in sync with each other.
Still further, as to an apparatus for thinning and shaping dough with the use of a roller, Patent Document 4 has disclosed a noodle lump spreading apparatus wherein a roller in a cone shape, for pushing and spreading a noodle lump, and a roller in a truncated cone shape, for allowing the noodle lump to be pushed thereto, attached to a slidably moving frame, are pressed into contact with a noodle lump housed in a rotating noodle lump container in the shape of a tray, and such a pushing and spreading operation can be automatically executed by making use of a mechanical power. Yet further, in Patent Document 5, there has been disclosed an apparatus capable of forming skins of Chinese dumplings, with a peripheral portion thereof, smaller in thickness, by clamping and pressing dough between a bottomed female die provided with a cavity circular in shape, and a male die made up of a cone with the base of a conical surface, substantially identical in radius to the cavity circular in shape. Further, in Patent Document 6, there has been disclosed a stamping apparatus wherein a plurality of die-pieces making up a horizontal die are caused to make an approach-motion so as to surround a skin material, and the skin material is then pressed from above by an upper die with a cavity formed on the underside central face thereof to thereby enable the skin material to be formed in the shape of a sheet with a center part larger in thickness than the peripheral part thereof. Yet further, in Patent Document 7, there has been disclosed a method whereby dough in a ball-like shape is clamped between two planes circular in shape to be then rotated, thereby producing a pizza dough in a disc shape by the agency of centrifugal force.    [Patent Document 1]    JP 2001-61401 A    [Patent Document 2]    JP 1999-308961 A    [Patent Document 3]    JP 2973313 B1    [Patent Document 4]    JP 1983-51833    [Patent Document 5]    JP 1989-252266    [Patent Document 6]    JP 3421667 B1    [Patent Document 7]    JP 1999-155466 A